
On Friday, October 21st and Saturday, October 22nd, Architecture for Humanity will host their annual conference – Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE!
The two-day conference is an opportunity for professionals in the fields of business, media, philanthropy, architecture and design to participate in an open forum-style discussion about experiences and lessons learned from current humanitarian design practices. Participants will explore challenges facing our future and the impact that collaborative and strategic humanitarian design will have on creating resilience for our communities moving forward. Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE! will operate by the same methodology Architecture for Humanity utilizes in its practices – collaboration, participation, and inclusion.
The event will kick-off with an opening cocktail reception at Steelcase’s New York showroom on Friday evening, a chance for participants to network with like-minded professionals and to learn about the organization’s work. Saturday’s events, taking place at the Center for Architecture, will begin with the Design Open Mic, an opportunity for participants to showcase their works, raise concerns and propose solutions to design problems in a 7 minute rotation format. The afternoon will feature panel discussions lead by professionals in the design, real estate, legal, and community development fields. Discussions will include: Investing in Social and Sustainable Real Estate, Disaster Response and Reconstruction and Greening Our Schools. Each panel discussion will be followed by a Post-Panel Working Group Session, where participants and guest speakers will work together to devise solutions for design problems. The event will close with a closing cocktail reception.

Architecture for Humanity’s annual conference will be a fast-paced exploration of design for well-being and resilience, particularly for underserved communities. Participants are sure to be not only inspired, but better equipped to use strategic design to create a viable future, to go forth and design…like they give a damn. Participation in the event is priced at $25 in advance, $15 in advance for students, and free for chapter members. For details about the event, visit Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE! 2011.